| Mistress of the Elgin Marbles | 
 enlarge | Author: Susan Nagel
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: $35.10
Buy Used: $4.98
You Save: $30.12 (86%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 3071312
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0470011408
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780470011409
ASIN: 0470011408
Publication Date: October 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Hardcover book with a dust jacket. This book is in very good condition with clean text. Almost like new.
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Book Description
Filled with romance, danger, and scandal, Mistress of the Elgin Marbles is the intriguing story of Mary Nisbet, the Countess of Elgin -- one of the most influential women of the Romantic era whose exploits enriched world culture immeasurably. The richest heiress in Scotland and the wife of accomplished diplomat Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, she traveled to Turkey when Elgin was appointed the Ambassador Extraordinaire to the Ottoman Empire -- a journey that would change history. Interweaving extensive details gleaned from primary sources and excerpts from the countess's own letters, Susan Nagel draws a vivid portrait of this formidable woman who helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, financed the removal and safe passage to England of classical marbles from the Parthenon, and struck a deal with Napoleon that no politician could have accomplished. Yet, as Nagel shows, those achievements were overshadowed by scandal when Mary's passionate affair with her husband's best friend flamed into the most lurid and salacious divorce trial in London's history. Lively and informative, this is an engrossing story of an astonishing woman who both defined and shaped an era.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A charming women January 18, 2006
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Mary Nisbet was the definition of an aristocrat. She lived a life most people dream of: She was good looking, charming, intelligent, extremely wealthy, and was admired and respected by some of the most powerful people around.
So what will you get out of by reading this book? Your be put into the shoes of Mary Nisbet and her extravagant lifestyle. Your get to know her spendthrift husband and his preoccupation with marbles from Parthenon. But really not much else.
The book is based off of Mary's diary, which really helped give the book life.
So, I'm giving the book 3 stars because the book was written fairly well, but the story was a little boring.
 Absorbing October 29, 2004
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
I just finished reading Susan Nagel's wonderful Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin. Rarely do I read Biographies and feel so intimately close to the subject as I did with this well researched piece of work. I felt as if I had lived right along with Mary through her travels, adventures, exploits and tragedies. Packed with Romantic locals and historical people. An intimate peek into a fascinating life, who was Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin.
Quite a Girl! October 28, 2004
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Quite a Girl! We have this vision of the women of a century ago being totally subservient to the men. It has been the men who made history. Where there have been women in the story, they are often viewed only as a companion to the men, as examples, the recent biographies of Washington and Nelson. In recent years we've begun to see well written biographies of women who certainly led fascinating lives.
Mary Nisbet was smart, rich, beautiful. She took smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, brought classical marbles from the Parthenon back to England (before Napoleon could get them). Then she 'replaced' her husband with his best friend.
Quite a Girl, Very interesting character, well written book.
If you love Patrick O'Brian... September 10, 2004
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
"Remember the ladies" Abigail Adams charged her husband John -- that's what Nagel does with "Mary Nisbet"; she fills in fascinating and colorful details of the world of the women of society in England during the war against Napoleon. All the teasing glimpses we get in O'Brian's masculine epic are fleshed out, as it were; the opulence of the Bey's court; Emma Hamilton's manipulation of Admiral Nelson; the impact of the war with Napoleon on life and travel -- all the dinner parties O'Brian glossed over in passing come springing to vivid life as we read from Mary's actual letters. If you loved Master and Commander or the whole series, pick this up and treat yourself to a richer picture of the period.
Captivating History-With Romance and Adventure August 23, 2004
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
Susan Nagel's biography of the Countess of Elgin makes history come alive in a dramatic, romantic page-turner. You'll be transported to a land of wealth and privilege, where egg-sized emeralds are exchanged as small tokens of affection, where cannons salute the arrival of dignitaries into new ports and where love of art and love of man mixes to create a heady and destructive combination of emotions.
This book is perfect for a day at the beach or an evening curled up at home - if only all history could be this fun!
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